Five people died in two accidents near Grahamstown during the first weekend of the National Arts Festival. Police said last Saturday a taxi carrying 13 passengers overturned and rolled several times, 30km from Grahamstown on the N2 from Port Elizabeth, after a tyre burst.
Five people died in two accidents near Grahamstown during the first weekend of the National Arts Festival. Police said last Saturday a taxi carrying 13 passengers overturned and rolled several times, 30km from Grahamstown on the N2 from Port Elizabeth, after a tyre burst.
Four people died at the scene and several others were taken to hospital with injuries ranging from minor to serious. Seven Fountains police are investigating a case of culpable homicide.
On Sunday a University of Cape Town student died when the vehicle he was travelling in with three fellow students overturned on the N2 from Port Elizabeth, around 50km from Grahamstown. Another of the group, who were on their way to the National Arts Festival, is reportedly still in a coma. No names were released.
A reporter who was the first on the scene said it had taken more than an hour for the ambulance to arrive. Gabriela Falanga, a reporter at the George-based Eden Express, said she had seen two of the students waving for help at the side of the road around 3.45pm and had stopped to call an ambulance.
“The ambulance took an hour and a half to arrive,” said Falanga. A case of culpable homicide is being investigated by the Paterson police.
